When carpet is installed between opposing walls, the carpet material is often secured to the underlying floor along the perimeter of the floor area. Thin strips of wood having carpet-gripping tacks protruding upwards therefrom (known as “tack strips”) are fastened to the periphery of the floor area in order to secure the underside of the carpet to the floor. In general, the carpet is secured to the tack strips along one perimeter of the floor area, and then the carpet is stretched across the floor area so that it conforms to the surface on which it is installed. Next, the stretched carpet is secured to the tack strips along an opposite edge of the floor area. This process is repeated with the remaining unsecured edges of the carpet, until the carpet has been stretched and installed as desired. Optionally, the carpet may be more permanently secured to the floor by flattening the tacks in the tack strip using a hammer or other suitable tool.
Carpet installers typically use a stretching tool consisting of a long multi-piece tube with a carpet-engaging head at one end of the tube and a pressure plate at the other end of the tube. A desired pole length is achieved by insertion of extension poles. The pressure plate is placed against a first wall, and the head is placed in engagement with carpet near a second, opposing wall. A lever is then actuated to extend the head toward the second wall, forcing the head away from the pressure plate. The carpet is thereby stretched in a direction away from the first wall and toward the second wall. The stretched carpet is pressed down on the tack strips near the head unit and the operation is repeated.
Such stretching tools are typically ported to a room in pieces and assembled inside the workspace. This is due to the fact that in its assembled form, a conventional stretcher can easily exceed 20–25 feet in length. A number of extension poles sections are carried to the worksite together with the pressure plate and head units, after which the stretcher is assembled.
The aggregate weight of such stretching apparatus often exceeds 90 pounds. Especially for installation of carpet in large rooms, a substantial number of poles are used to construct the stretching apparatus. The combined weight of the poles, the head unit and the pressure plate section usually varies from about 80 to 100 pounds.
The weight and size of the conventional stretching apparatus are factors during transportation of the stretcher from one worksite to another. An appropriate amount of cargo space in the installer's van or truck is typically set aside for various head units, pressure plates and the set of extension poles.
The size and girth of the conventional stretcher unit affect the ease and speed with which an installer may complete a carpet installation. During a typically installation, the carpet is stretched at lateral intervals of about 2–4 feet. For an average room, this involves moving the stretcher about 5–10 times for each wall. The speed and ease with which the stretcher can be relocated may have a significant affect on installation times.
The size, weight, and number of component parts also affect the cost of the stretching unit. The weight of the unit affects raw material and shipping costs and the number of components generally affects design and manufacturing cost.
The anchoring method can affect the likelihood that the workspace is damaged. In conventional systems the pressure plate is often placed against the opposing baseboard or wall in which case care should be taken not to damage the baseboard or wall during a stretching operation. If too much force is applied during the stretching operation, the pressure plate may cause cracking, indentation, or other damage to the baseboard or wall against which it is pressed.
The flexibility of the system to work on concrete floors may also present an issue. The addition or substitution of auxiliary components may be needed to adapt a stretching system to stretch carpet over concrete subfloors. These additional components impact system cost, transportation difficulty and set-up time.
The room size and configuration may also pose limitations. Typically carpet is stretched by anchoring the system against the opposing wall. If an expanse of carpet is to be stretched over a tack strip which does not face an opposing wall, alternate methods and/or tools may be required to complete the installation. The same may be true for rooms exceeding the combined length of extension poles on hand or the maximum recommended length of a stretching unit, beyond which the extension poles may bow.